Bretsky
12-22-2007, 03:58 PM
20/20 Hindsight
By John Tuvey
www.fanball.com
December 21, 2007 5:00 PM ET
So your fantasy football season has ended short of expectations. It happens to the best of fantasy players from time to time, as on occasion football players stubbornly refuse to conform to expectations. We expect Adrian Peterson to have a big day against the 49ers, he turns in a dog of a performance. Who saw it coming?
Thankfully, the magic of hindsight allows us to rewrite history—or at least our take on it. Here's what 20/20 hindsight tells us we should have written back in August.
Tom Brady is better than Peyton Manning. Sure, Peyton won a Super Bowl, besting Brady along the way. And sure he's put up the superior individual numbers. But Brady is better. In fact, he'll blow up Peyton's passing mark, then steal his endorsements and impregnate his wife. Trust us on this. All he needs is some talented receivers. Such as…
Randy Moss is soooo back. How could you expect Moss to work under the abysmal conditions he faced in Oakland? A stern guiding hand in the form of Bill Belichick, a quarterback used to focusing on one target and going back to them again and again, and an offense that celebrates the blowout will unquestionably put Moss on the road to smashing Jerry Rice's single season touchdown mark. (Editor's note: my colleague Jason Powell actually did see this coming, ranking Moss first in our Annual Guide. We, of course, thought he was drunk and ignored him, as per usual)
The preseason means nothing. Yes, Donovan McNabb looks like his old MVP self in August. Ignore this. Once the games start to count he'll play his way right out of Philly. They didn't resign A.J. Feely to be a backup, you know.
You don't need a back in round one. Look, unless you've got the top overall pick and can grab LT, eschew the backs and take Brady or Moss. We all know Larry Johnson will break down because of last year's overuse, and Shaun Alexander is over the hill. Plus, Steven Jackson is a major injury risk, Willie Parker never gets the ball at the stripe, and don't even get me started on Brian Westbrook's pitiful team-first attitude. We strongly suggest ignoring backs altogether, then culling from the pile third-teamers like Earnest Graham in Tampa Bay, Derrick Ward in New York, and even Ryan Grant if he finds a team after the Giants kick him to the curb.
Forget everything you know. Sure, Marvin Harrison has produced eight straight 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown seasons; what have you done for me lately? The world will end not with a bang but with a whimper, and so will Marv's run as the safest bet in fantasy football. As for Rudi Johnson, the back-to-back-to-back campaigns with 1,300 or more yards and a dozen touchdowns have constituted a nice run, but asking him to do it yet again is folly.
Oakland already has its back. Not that we'd be the first to question the acumen of the Raiders' front office, but the move to sign Dominic Rhodes was just plain stupid. So was the drafting of Michael Bush, if you must know. All Oakland needs to do is give Justin Fargas the touches, and good things will happen.
So do the Jets. The Bears are taking heat for getting rid of Thomas Jones, but the team who should really be mocked is the Jets for acquiring him. They already have Leon Washington, who may return more kicks for touchdowns than Jones produces as the quote-unquote feature back.
Housh your daddy. Forget the hype, T.J. Houshmandzadeh is the best receiver in Cincinnati—except, of course, for those two games every year when Chad Johnson decides to show up. This year, circle weeks 2 and 12 on your Chad calendar and ignore him every other week.
Jennings is in the Drivers' seat. Not only should Brett Favre not have retired, he's going to answer his critics by returning to the Pro Bowl. And he'll do it primarily because of second-year wideout Greg Jennings, who is without question a superior fantasy option to Donald Driver—regardless of what the Pro Bowl voters say.
Grab Roddy. Quarterback, schmorterback; Roddy White is a pure talent who will not only leapfrog past Michael Jenkins and Joe Horn in the pecking order but put up consistent stats regardless of who's at quarterback for the Falcons. Hell, they could pull guys off the street like Byron Leftwich and Chris Redman and White will still get his.
Do not mock Reggie Williams. First round bust my derriere; the Jags are ready to shed their run-first image behind the precision passing of David Garrard, and Williams will be his top target. Oh, they're not going to go Greatest Show on Turf on us or anything, but Williams will score more than Torry Holt or Steve Smith. What's that? No, we're not smoking anything.
By John Tuvey
www.fanball.com
December 21, 2007 5:00 PM ET
So your fantasy football season has ended short of expectations. It happens to the best of fantasy players from time to time, as on occasion football players stubbornly refuse to conform to expectations. We expect Adrian Peterson to have a big day against the 49ers, he turns in a dog of a performance. Who saw it coming?
Thankfully, the magic of hindsight allows us to rewrite history—or at least our take on it. Here's what 20/20 hindsight tells us we should have written back in August.
Tom Brady is better than Peyton Manning. Sure, Peyton won a Super Bowl, besting Brady along the way. And sure he's put up the superior individual numbers. But Brady is better. In fact, he'll blow up Peyton's passing mark, then steal his endorsements and impregnate his wife. Trust us on this. All he needs is some talented receivers. Such as…
Randy Moss is soooo back. How could you expect Moss to work under the abysmal conditions he faced in Oakland? A stern guiding hand in the form of Bill Belichick, a quarterback used to focusing on one target and going back to them again and again, and an offense that celebrates the blowout will unquestionably put Moss on the road to smashing Jerry Rice's single season touchdown mark. (Editor's note: my colleague Jason Powell actually did see this coming, ranking Moss first in our Annual Guide. We, of course, thought he was drunk and ignored him, as per usual)
The preseason means nothing. Yes, Donovan McNabb looks like his old MVP self in August. Ignore this. Once the games start to count he'll play his way right out of Philly. They didn't resign A.J. Feely to be a backup, you know.
You don't need a back in round one. Look, unless you've got the top overall pick and can grab LT, eschew the backs and take Brady or Moss. We all know Larry Johnson will break down because of last year's overuse, and Shaun Alexander is over the hill. Plus, Steven Jackson is a major injury risk, Willie Parker never gets the ball at the stripe, and don't even get me started on Brian Westbrook's pitiful team-first attitude. We strongly suggest ignoring backs altogether, then culling from the pile third-teamers like Earnest Graham in Tampa Bay, Derrick Ward in New York, and even Ryan Grant if he finds a team after the Giants kick him to the curb.
Forget everything you know. Sure, Marvin Harrison has produced eight straight 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown seasons; what have you done for me lately? The world will end not with a bang but with a whimper, and so will Marv's run as the safest bet in fantasy football. As for Rudi Johnson, the back-to-back-to-back campaigns with 1,300 or more yards and a dozen touchdowns have constituted a nice run, but asking him to do it yet again is folly.
Oakland already has its back. Not that we'd be the first to question the acumen of the Raiders' front office, but the move to sign Dominic Rhodes was just plain stupid. So was the drafting of Michael Bush, if you must know. All Oakland needs to do is give Justin Fargas the touches, and good things will happen.
So do the Jets. The Bears are taking heat for getting rid of Thomas Jones, but the team who should really be mocked is the Jets for acquiring him. They already have Leon Washington, who may return more kicks for touchdowns than Jones produces as the quote-unquote feature back.
Housh your daddy. Forget the hype, T.J. Houshmandzadeh is the best receiver in Cincinnati—except, of course, for those two games every year when Chad Johnson decides to show up. This year, circle weeks 2 and 12 on your Chad calendar and ignore him every other week.
Jennings is in the Drivers' seat. Not only should Brett Favre not have retired, he's going to answer his critics by returning to the Pro Bowl. And he'll do it primarily because of second-year wideout Greg Jennings, who is without question a superior fantasy option to Donald Driver—regardless of what the Pro Bowl voters say.
Grab Roddy. Quarterback, schmorterback; Roddy White is a pure talent who will not only leapfrog past Michael Jenkins and Joe Horn in the pecking order but put up consistent stats regardless of who's at quarterback for the Falcons. Hell, they could pull guys off the street like Byron Leftwich and Chris Redman and White will still get his.
Do not mock Reggie Williams. First round bust my derriere; the Jags are ready to shed their run-first image behind the precision passing of David Garrard, and Williams will be his top target. Oh, they're not going to go Greatest Show on Turf on us or anything, but Williams will score more than Torry Holt or Steve Smith. What's that? No, we're not smoking anything.